Apparatus for regrooving sugar mill rolls



y 1948. c. A. WAINWRIGHT 2,442,065

APPARATUS FOR REGROOVING SUGAR MI LL ROLLS Filed Feb. 8, 1946 a Sheets-Shet 1 IN VEN TOR.

,4 7' 70/? NEYJ May 25, 1948. c. A. WAINWRIGHT 2,442,065

APPARATUS FOR REGROOVING SUGAR MILL ROLLS Filed Feb. 8, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 25, 1948 APPARATUS FOR REGROOVING SUGAR MILL ROLLS Charles A. Wainwright, Raceland, La.

Application February 8, 1946, Serial No. 646,279

2 Claims. (01. 9015) This invention relates to apparatus for regrooV- ing, or cutting new grooves, in sugar mill rolls.

The grooves referred to are the series of parallel grooves which extend across the surface of the roll, each consisting of oppositely inclined portions symmetrical with respect to the center circumference of the roll, and which meet at an btuse angle at the center circumference. The grooves are cut with an abrupt shoulder facing the direction of rotation of the roll, forming teeth in the ridges between the circumferential juice ducts, which teeth engage the cut cane and feed it between cooperating rolls.

In use, the teeth become blunted, chipped and otherwise scarified, so that from time to time it becomes necessary to regroove the rolls to restore the teeth. All sugar mills have a bench with spaced open bearings upon which a', dismantled roll is set, for the purpose of. regrooving. Generally, regrooving is done by hand with a chisel. This is a time-consuming operation and the job is far from perfect, for it is diflicult to maintain the angle of the groove constant, and the chisel breaks the point of the tooth and swells the metal into the annular juice ducts, making a poor fit with the cooperatin roll, and causing breakage of the scrapers and return plates in some cases. Some foundries and machine shops which manution to the sugar mill train of rollswithout hazard of breaking the scrapers or return plates.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide apparatus which can be used in combination with the bench above referred to, comprising a traveling slide rest carrying a milling cutter movable parallel to the axis of the roll, means for slowly rotating the sugar roll, and means for driving both the slide rest and roll rotating means in synchronized relation so that the angle of groove is the resultant of the relative rates of movement of the slide rest and the roll.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the following description of a preferred and practical embodiment thereof proceeds.

In the drawings:

' Figure 1 is a plan view of apparatus embodying the principles of the invention, shown in operative relation to a sugar mill;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus. partl in section, taken along the line 2- 2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an end elevation of what is shown in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a section taken along the line E--4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a section taken along the line 5-5 of Figure 2, showing the tumbler gear; I

Figure 6 is a side elevation of a portion or the sugar roll, showing one of the grooves;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the slide'rest and milling cutter unit.

Referring now in detail to the several figures, the numeral I represents a platform on which are mounted the longitudinally spaced open bearing supports 2, carrying the roller bearings 3. The dismantled sugar roll is shown at 4 in' Figure 1, having cylindrical journals 5 and 6. extending from the opposite ends, resting upon the opposite bearings 3, so that the roll can be turned on said bearings. The journal 5 has a reduced end 1, on which is keyed the worm gear 8, by which the roll 4 is driven in the mill.

The above means for supporting the dismantled roll, for doing repair work upon it, is conventional.

The grooving apparatus comprises a slide rest treveling parallel to the axis of the roll carrying a milling cutter for making the groove, means for rotating the roll while the slide rest in traveling, for giving the desired angle of inclination to the groove, a motor, and driving connections from the motor to-the slide rest, roll rotating means and cutter.

The means for rotating the roll t is shown in Figure 3, and consists of a shaft a journaled. in bearings Ii], H and 52, carrying a freely revoluble worm 35, abutting a collar 53,- fixed on the shaft 9. A clutch i5 is splined on the shaft 9 adjacent the worm, engageable with the clutch face I! on the adjacent end of the worm by means of which the worm is driven when theclutch is engaged. The shaft 9 carries a driving sprocket l6. Said shaft is mounted perpendicular tothe axis of the roll with the worm directly beneath the axis of the roll in position to be engaged by the worm wheel 8 when the roll is placed upon the bench. .l

The lathe which carries the milling, cutter comprises a pair of spaced vertical end plates 17 and i8, which rest upon the platform I. :Between these, a horizontal track member [9' extends, composed of the spaced L-shaped beams 20, having out-turned flanges 2| at thetonan d by which interconnection the carriage 25 can be made to travel the length of the track member j l9, in either direction, depending upon thediv rection of rotation of the propulsion screw 2.7.

The carriage is provided with a dovetail guideway 28, perpendicular to the di-rection'of travel of the carriage, forming a track for a slide rest, '29, which comprises a plate 3%, resting upon the i screw from its driving connection so that it J be quickly turned by the hand wheel lil mounted ,at the extreme end of the shaft 24.

The lefthand end of thelscrew shaft 24, as viewed in Figure 1, carries a' gear 62, which through selectively engageable reversing gears 53 and 64, drives a gear 65 on a horizontal shaft 6%, having a bearing in the end plate 11 and a bearing fixed to the platform. The outer end of this shaft carries a sprocket 61, chain connected to a sprocket 68, which drives a shaft 69, supported in bearings in'the top of the-end plate II.

This last mentioned shaft carries a worm 10. This Worm meshes with a worm wheel H on the shaft '32, mounted in bearings at the, top of the s .end plate "ll, having a sprocket 13 chain con .7 nectedlto the sprocket IE on the shaft 9, which carriage, having fixed thereto a dovetail slidev 34, fitting within the guideway 28. r The carriage is provided with an upwardlyextending front wallf3l, having a bearing'aperture in alignment with the guideway 28, in which is journaled a screw shaft-33, extendingthrough said guideway and through a threaded bore in the slide 3 5.

The screw issecured against endwise movement with respect to the wall 3i, and has a crank at its oppositeendfor rotating it to move the slide rest forward and backward relative to said carriage. On the plate-v of the slide rest is mounted the millingcutter unit,-which consists of a horizontal base 36, having a vertical front wall 3'5, through thecentral portion of which the shaft 38 of the milling cutte1-39 extends, said shaft being journaled in hearings in the ends of the housing es,

fixed to said base. On each side of the milling cutter shaft the front wall 31 is provided with pro- "jectingnpins-fl, onwhich pairs of idler sprockets Y #2 are journaled. The milling cutter shaft 38 also carries a pair of sprockets 43 between the cutter'and front wall in the vertical planes of the sprockets 42, for driving the milling cutter.

Figure 1 shows that there is a horizontal shaft fMa-bove the track' member it at one end, jour naled in bearings 45, "fixed to the end plate ll,

and that there is a horizontal shaft 46 similarly positioned at the opposite ended the track mern- V .ber carried in bearings 41, fixed to the end plate l8, The shaft 46 extends backward a sufiicient :distance to receive a sprocket 48, chain driven from the motor 49. The forward ends of shafts M and. 46 carry pairs of sprockets 5i) at the same vertical planes as the. sprockets 32. Beneath the track member 19, at the middle, a stub sha'ft'fil 'is journaletl, carrying a pair of sprock- 'ets' '52 in thevertlcal planes of the sprockets t3, "Double chains 53 are arranged in triangularfon mation, as shown, about the'sprockets 43, 42, 5t *and'52, the sprockets 42 defining a deepbight in the'chain about the sprockets #3 which drive the milling cutter. r r V The-shaft 24 which carries the screvfZl for propelling the slide rest carriage has a double faced clutch'tl l-splinably mounted upon its extended righthand end portion, as viewed in Figure 'lyadap'tetl to be selectively coupled with either'o'f'the'bevel gears-'55 or 56; rotatably but nonslidably mounted upon the shaft 24. Said 7 gears are in mesh with the opposite sides of a bevel gear"?! on a shafti58, having a sprocket 59, 7 chain connected to 'a sprocket 60 on the drive shaft 46. By operating'the clutch, reversal of flmovement o'f the screw '42! isobtained. The clutch also has-"a 'neutral "position, freeing the direction.

turns the roll '4.

There is considerable reduction in gear ratio in the driving train between the screw 21 and the worm wheel 8 on the end'of the roll 4,.so-sthat the roll turns very slowly compared with the longitudinal traverse of the millinglcutter, making a groove at an acute angle to the longitudi V nal dimension of the roll. I

As clearly shown in FigureYS, the axisofiro- I tation of the milling cutter is in a plane parallel to, but below the horizontal axial 'planeof the roll 3, so that the recess or groove made by the-milling cutter is deep and abrupt at its .upper end but feathers out tothe surface of the .rollat its 7 lower end.

The intermeshing gears '63 and 64 are ,sjournaled on pins carried by 'a tumbler frame .14, g which is pivoted about the shafttfi. The :turnbler' is tiltable by means of the, hand lever 15 toibring either gear 63 or gear -64 j into mesh with .the driving gear 62. Thelever"IFr-isengageabIeMith teeth on the quadrant rack 16 :tolockxeitherof said gears in mesh with the driving'gear. By this means, direction of rotation of the roll 4 maybe reversed when the milling cutterha's reached rthe rni'd'dleof the groove, for'reversin'g the obliquity of the groove. a l.

To operate, the roll 4 35 is declutched front the apparatus except the worm, from the roll-4; so that the latter can be rotated by hand groove to be redressed in alignment with the milling cutter. l r r I i The clutch 5A is placed in neutral zepositio'n and the hand wheel fil turned to rapidly rotate the screw 21 and bringthe carriageandslide rest quickly into end position. adjacent: the'end' a plate IS. The roll is now xturnedlmanuallylto register the end of the groo've withlthe milling cutter. The clutch l5 is then engaged with the worm 35 and the clutch 5' 5 engaged withsthe bevel gear 55, which rotates the screw -21 in. a forward The tumbler gear is :put into-engagement with the gear '62; V a 1 The motor is now started. .The'carriage -25,trav-- els from right to left; the milling cutter rotates; v the roll turns slowly and ,thegroove i fprogresl sively cut obliquely as the-milling cutter proceeds toward the center oftth'e roll. "When the center is reached, the tumbler framedsreversed to bring the gearyfi linmeshiwithj the gearfl; This, reverses the "direction of rot'ationof the roll 7 i so that as the milling-7 cutter continuesto-rtravel across the surface o'fxthe roll its path :on ,thezroll will be :oblique inithe opposite direction j The milling cutter may be made towmake-zalreis placed upon the bear ings 3, with'the wormwheel 8 meshingtwith the worm 35. The worm shafts. 'This disengages the entirereclutching to/bringthe turn cut in the same groove by shifting the clutch 54 to engage the bevel gear 56, thus reversing the direction of rotation of the screw '21, which causes the carriage to travel back from left to right. In the execution of this return cut the tumbler frame must be shifted at the middle point in the groove.

The depth of the cut is regulated by turning the crank of the screw shaft 33, which advances the milling cutter depthwise into the groove. The chains 53 have enough slack to permit the movement of the sprockets 43 in a forward direction with the milling cutter. I

When it is desired to turn the roll 4 to the next groove, the motor is stopped, the clutch I5 is disengaged from the worm 35, and the sequence of operations above described is repeated.

By changing the sprocket I6 to one of different size, and altering the length of the chain connections tosaid sprocket accordingly, a different speed ratio between the roll 4 and carriage 25 may be obtained, for cutting grooves of different obliqueness.

While I have in the above disclosure described what I believe to be a preferred and practical embodiment of the invention, it will be understood to those skilled in the art that the specific details of construction and arrangement of parts as described are by way of illustration and. not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. Apparatus for grooving sugar mill rolls comprising a supporting frame including a longitudinal guide, a carriage slidable along said guide, a propulsion screw parallel to said guide threadedly engaging said carriage for moving the latter along said guide, a milling cutter on said carriage, a sprocket on the shaft of said cutter for driving said cutter, a pair of sprockets carried by said frame adjacent the ends of said guide, said milling cutter sprocket and said pair of sprockets being in a common plane, a slack chain passing about said pair of sprockets and said milling cutter sprocket, a pair of idler sprockets on said carriage at opposite sides of said milling cutter sprocket, engaging said chain to dispose the slack in said chain in an extensive are about said milling cutter sprocket, and means for driving said screw and chain.

2. Apparatus for regrooving a sugar mill roll having a gear at one end and revolubly supported on a horizontal axis, comprising a frame including a guide extending transversely of said roll, a carriage slidable along said guide, a screw shaft having a threaded portion extending parallel to said guide threadedly engaging said carriage for moving the latter along said guide, a milling cutter on said carriage engageable with the surface of said roll having a shaft in a plane parallel to the axis of said roll but offset therefrom, a motor, driving connections from said motor to said screw shaft and said milling cutter, the driving connections to said screw shaft including reversing mechanism having a neutral position in which said screw shaft is free from the motor drive, a hand wheel on said screw shaft, a Worm meshing with the gear on said roll, a driving connection from said screw shaft to said worm, said last named driving connection including reversing mechanism for changing the direction of rotation of said roll, and a clutch for releasing said wormfrorn said driving mechanism.

CHARLES A. WAINWRIGHT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 667,321 Keyes Feb. 5, 1901 1,233,543 Benicke July 17, 1917 1,250,377 "Stevens Dec. 18, 1917 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 25,434 Great Britain Nov. 2, 1911 

